Website on Gun Safes of all sizes

[ELB]

I was researching small gun safes/containers, looking for something more sturdy than the $50 budget ones, when I ran across this website:

Gun Safe Reviews Guy

Lots of good stuff there, on big and small gun containers.

[TexasTornado]

What do ya'll generally look for in safes? I know the one we have takes 5 minutes, a wish, a prayer, and an act of Congress to get into. I naturally hate the thing and don't store anything but my extra extra ammo and rifle in it.

[JerryK]

Thank you, I have read through most of it which got me to thinking about the ammo I have stored in the safe. I may re-think what I have going on there. It really is not stored there for theft protection although I may purchase a secondary lower security safe to put it in.

Again thank and I recommend anyone read through the articles presented. It will not be a waste of time I assure you!!!

Here is an example of what gets you to thinking, this is one that I actually thought the day I installed mine and set the combination

"The problem I see is when someone is home. If a burglar puts a gun to your wife or child’s head and says “open the safe” then what?"

[ELB]

What do ya'll generally look for in safes? I know the one we have takes 5 minutes, a wish, a prayer, and an act of Congress to get into. I naturally hate the thing and don't store anything but my extra extra ammo and rifle in it.

The website I pointed to has some discussion on the trade-offs between easy access, security, and reliability. I would suggest that if you can divide your collection of shootin' arns into "ones I want to get to right now" and "ones I want securely stored and can take my time to get to" you will end up with two different solutions: a quick access but less secure security container that you can open in the dark under pressure, and an actual safe that is much more burglar resistant (but not so fast to get into.

The guy who put that site together really did do a good job of discussing trade-offs, including whether a gun safe is even worth it. There are other options, depending on what threat you are trying to counter.

[TexasTornado]

Right now opening the safe entails, "dad, when you get time will you please open the stupid safe, I need to get xyz item out."

A couple or 3 or 4 days later he says it's open and a "thanks daddy" is issued.

This is definitely not the best solution, but it does prevent me from trying the crowbar and drill tactics described in the articles. In all seriousness though, breaking into it would probably take less time than opening it correctly, and under pressure, just forget it.

What I wouldn't give for a keypad or biometrics or even a normal key to bypass the rotating numbers of hell...

[JerryK]

What I wouldn't give for a keypad or biometrics or even a normal key to bypass the rotating numbers of heck...

Remember Left-right-left or was it right-left-right

[TexasTornado]

What I wouldn't give for a keypad or biometrics or even a normal key to bypass the rotating numbers of heck...

Remember Left-right-left or was it right-left-right

I dont know but I'm pretty sure it was 3 turns one way 18 turns the other way and then 56 turns back the other way....

[remanifest]

These guys understand security. The entire purpose of security is for it to be inconspicuous, effective, and fast to get to. If it's properly concealed, a burglar could spend an inordinate amount of time in your house and never even know it's there.

Have a look at these safes in action.

While I know how to defeat safes like that (by locating voids/false spaces), there are barriers to this in a traditional burglary: time & improbability. A burglar who is good at their job is fast & doesn't have time to mess around looking for false spaces, nor do they encounter these often enough for them to even be on their mind. Your average homeowner is going to have a totally obvious huge safe, 99.9% of which can be defeated a whole lot more easily than the salesman or manufacturer has told you, or one of the small safes that can just be picked up and defeated at leisure.

Know your enemy: a burglar is coming in with clear intent to acquire as many high-value items as possible in the shortest time. A hidden safe is the way to go, in my opinion. What do you all think?

[remanifest]

I was researching small gun safes/containers, looking for something more sturdy than the $50 budget ones, when I ran across this website:

Gun Safe Reviews Guy

Lots of good stuff there, on big and small gun containers.

That is definitely a nice resource, and a lot has gone into it. I'll bet the person who made it is a multi-level marketer who is trying to fill a niche - and they're doing a great job.

Right now opening the safe entails, "dad, when you get time will you please open the stupid safe, I need to get xyz item out."

A couple or 3 or 4 days later he says it's open and a "thanks daddy" is issued.

This is definitely not the best solution, but it does prevent me from trying the crowbar and drill tactics described in the articles. In all seriousness though, breaking into it would probably take less time than opening it correctly, and under pressure, just forget it.

What I wouldn't give for a keypad or biometrics or even a normal key to bypass the rotating numbers of heck...

Those are definitely valid concerns. You're stuck if you need your items quickly, or you may be killed if you're not able to open the safe rapidly enoughfor a burglar's liking under pressure.

These guys understand security. The entire purpose of security is for it to be inconspicuous, effective, and fast to get to. If it's properly concealed, a burglar could spend an inordinate amount of time in your house and never even know it's there.

Have a look at these safes in action.

While I know how to defeat safes like that (by locating voids/false spaces), there are barriers to this in a traditional burglary: time & improbability. A burglar who is good at their job is fast & doesn't have time to mess around looking for false spaces, nor do they encounter these often enough for them to even be on their mind. Your average homeowner is going to have a totally obvious huge safe, 99.9% of which can be defeated a whole lot more easily than the salesman or manufacturer has told you, or one of the small safes that can just be picked up and defeated at leisure.

Know your enemy: a burglar is coming in with clear intent to acquire as many high-value items as possible in the shortest time. A hidden safe is the way to go, in my opinion. What do you all think?

[rotor]

A friend bought an expensive wheel combo safe because of the fire rating and all of the good stuff about safes that we are concerned with. He hates it. It is hard to open. Mine is to prevent the casual thief from getting in. It has the push button programmable lock and is so easy to get it open. I also have one of the older dial types and I am afraid to completely lock it because it is so hard to open.
I think the main thing about a safe is that it is heavy and locks. Meets legal requirements when the kids are here. The other issue is that no matter how big it is it needs to be bigger. Anyone wants to steal mine I say good luck. I don't think I could ever get it out of my house. The people who delivered it could barely get it in with 4 people doing the delivery.

[bblhd672]

I was researching small gun safes/containers, looking for something more sturdy than the $50 budget ones, when I ran across this website:

Gun Safe Reviews Guy

Lots of good stuff there, on big and small gun containers.

Wow! Great info with potential to save thousands of dollars and your prized possessions.

Thanks for posting this!

[Pawpaw]

While the website in the OP has a lot of good informaion, I was a bit disappointed. I expected a website named "Gun Safe Reviews Guy" to have some actual reviews and comparisons. Instead, it reads more like a marketing website for only a couple of brands.

I have a Champion T-60 (apparently now called a TR-60) with a mechanical lock and I really like it. As with I believe all S&G locks, it has a key lock in the knob. This allows you to turn the knob back to zero and then lock it with the key. Then you can just use the key for access. I believe they call this a "day lock", with the idea that a business could use it for fast access during business hours and only have to mess with the combination once a day.

[TreyHouston]

Ive been wanting one, the site was VERY helpful! Is it ment for quick access? NO, i see a safe as a place to put the other guns, along with wifes jewelry and possibly the 50K in cash i wish i had! When you go on family vacation it would be nice to know your stuff is safe! For example, Last vacation, i had a dog sitter and i took my guns and wifes jewelry to my dads house.